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Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present

MARINA ABRAMOVIC: THE ARTIST IS PRESENT follows the provocative performance artist Marina Abramovic as she prepares for a retrospective at MoMA in New York City, while also taking a closer look at her 40 year career.

Ways to Influence

Mentor an artist. You could do this personally or pool together resources from your doc film club to help mentor an artist you believe in, financially or in other ways.

Take the time to seek out artists who are working in your local community. Attend their shows and take friends or family along. The discussions that follow are sure to be enlivening.

Explore your own inner artist by taking an art class or joining your local theatre group.

Related Articles and Resources

Artist’s Fearless Aura, in Film, Chair or Tub

“Mr. Akers has performed a valuable service for both the artist and the public in presenting a persuasive answer to the question that still plagues art that creates events and experiences rather than paintings and sculptures: Is it really art at all? ”

I Am Performance Artist Marina Abramovic. Ask Me Anything.

Reddit’s famous “Ask Me Anything” invites its users to do just that and often results in fascinating revelations- find out what readers wanted to know about Marina, from whether or not she a vampire to if she is still in love with former partner Ulay.

Walking Through Walls

“She has screamed until she lost her voice, danced until she collapsed, and brushed her hair until her scalp bled…What makes [her work] art? Context and intention, she said: ‘The sense of purpose I feel to do something heroic, legendary, and transformative; to elevate viewers’ spirits and give them courage. If I can go through the door of pain to embrace life on the other side, they can, too.'”

When Art Makes Us Cry

“Watching the documentary, I thought: This is the moment in which we live. Alienated, unmoored, we seek our salvation, one by one, from the artist who brings us the comforting news: I see you. I weep when you weep. The mystery, and the miracle, is that you exist.”

Advice to the Young

Follow your intuition. Have courage. Do what you imagine. And always be completely present in the moment. Marina Abramović on what it really means to be an artist: “A great artist has to be ready to fail.”

Artists in Conversation

“Marina can actually transform and direct thoughts. She understands and uses the ecstatic. And she creates transformation out of the simplest materials, featuring her own body. An intensely physical person, she combines it with the spiritual in a completely unique way.”